Rochester church celebrates prison outreach program success stories

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Spiritus Christi invited people to walk the red carpet Saturday night. The event aimed to celebrate the success stories of people who have overcome addiction and turned their lives around for the better.

The event was a fundraiser for Spiritus Christi’s prison outreach ministry, which helps people who are released from prison and re-entering society.

Organizers say most people who leave prison want to be law-abiding citizens, but many of them face challenges that make it difficult.

“We have to support people and really provide the opportunities for them to be successful,” says Executive Director of prison outreach, Jim Smith. “It’s so in the interest of everybody in the community because if we can help someone not go back to a life of crime by being successful, there’s less crime in the communities.”

Spiritus Christi offers programs and housing to help the formerly incarcerated start their success stories.